Iori

I should have told you that he has articles on other dunjonquest games as well, knowing that you are into the whole series. My bad. But I am glad you found it and liked it. The original BASIC versions of Temple of Apshai is technically turn-based as well, but with a time-limit. Yes, the speed is horrible. I play a little at authentic speed to get the feel of the actual game play back in 1979. After that, I crank up the emulator speed by x3, and set the combat speed to Slow. For some reason, when I crank it up more than x3, the game crashes. Ahab's objective is to study the chronology and the genealogy of games, so he is interested in playing the most original form of the game. He is not really interested in playing the "best version" of the game. The same goes for me, and that is why I was playing the TRS-80 version. But since I also have obsessions over "differences in ports" for any game that I find interesting, I think I will eventually try to play all versions of this game. I wonder if you have the same obsessions as me in general, or is it restricted to the Dunjonquest games?

Hi Adam. Thank you for you response. I have recently played the TRS-80 version extensively. I found this thread during that. I have also played a little bit of the Atari version (Original). I don't have experience playing this game back in the 70s or the 80s. I have mapped all 4 levels of the TRS-80 version, with treasures and traps. I also recorded the weight of each treasure. If you need to know anything about the TRS-80 version, maybe I can help you. I do admit that I am quite obsessed with numbers and data. However, the primary reason that I want to know the function of these obscure items is that it could be very likely to be bugged. In any CRPG, the chance that a function or a feature of an item, skill, etc is bugged is quite high. In the Temple of Apshai, I would religiously go for the Magic Cloak first (if there is one on the level) before exploring other parts of the level, hoping that it has some effects. But I would be devastated if the Magic Cloak is bugged and is dysfunctional. LOL It was when you were comparing monster graphics from different platforms, and you could not find the centipedes and the spider in any of the platforms. On the TRS-80 version, with INT 18, it only worked sometimes on Antmen and Giant Spiders, and it worked every time on the centipedes. Sadly, it never worked on other monsters. Maybe I tested around 30~50 times against each monsters. From what I read at Data Driven Gamer, you would gain enhancement on your "fist". But it would still be shown as "Magic Sword" on the menu. Here is the link to Ahab's post on Temple of Apshai. https://datadrivengamer.blogspot.com/2020/07/game-202-dunjonquest-temple-of-apshai.html Here is the link to the page discussing the mechanism of Magic Sword. https://datadrivengamer.blogspot.com/2020/07/temple-of-apshai-not-satisfied-with.html Again, thank you for your response Adam. And I commend you for all the work you have done throughout this thread.

Thank you for your reply Adam. However, I was rather referring to the Boots, Cloak, Talisman, and the Skull Ring in the Temple of Apshai. I am sorry I did not make myself clear. These items only have very vague explanations of them in the manual, if not any. I was playing the original TRS-80 version of Temple of Apshai, so it could definitely be different from the Trilogy Versions. As for the Magic Book, at least in the TRS-80 version, it raises Constitution. It makes sense because Wraith saps your constitution through chills. For some reason, in the TRS-80 version, Wraith are Wraiths in the manual, but it is "Wights" in-game. By the way Adam, in the original TRS-80 version, "centipedes" can be encountered at Level 1, Room 54 and 55. They appear when you come adjacent to the treasure chest. Spiders can also be encountered at Level 1 Room 55. Maybe they have been deleted in the Trilogy, but these are their original locations. Spiders hit VERY HARD but their HP is low. I am guessing it's a D&D thing. I was also wondering if anyone has made any good use of the ability to "speak" to monsters. On TRS-80, at Intelligence, Intuition, and Ego at 18, "speaking" always worked on the centipede, and sometimes worked on Antman and Giant Spiders,and that's it. It never worked on other monsters. I think it never works on the "strong" Antman, but on TRS-80, you cannot exactly tell the difference between the different types of Antman, other than guessing from the damage you receive. I did notice there were "ANTMAN" and "ANT MAN", but it seemed like this didn't have anything to do with the type of Antman. Also regarding the Magic Sword (pardon me if this has already been mentioned). I am not sure if this applies to the Trilogy, but I am guessing it does to the original Atari and C64 versions. Magic Sword is not a weapon on its own, but it is an "enhancement" to the weapon that you already had. Thus, if you had Great Sword prior to obtaining the Magic Sword, you would still not be able to equip a shield. The enhancement level is randomly between +0~+2, and it rewrites any previous enchantment that you could have had. The message says the sword "glows" when the enchantment is either +1 or +2. If you pick up +0, then your weapon name goes back to the original weapon on the game-screen. I owe this knowledge to Ahab at Data Driven Gamer. My experience points is now at 150,000. I have read articles and comments regarding the leveling system, and they say that the experience DOES influence combat (at least in the C64 BASIC version), but I wonder how much the actual influence is. It is really hard to tell if your character has gotten stronger through those experience points.

I posted this same question before, but now I see that the thread is running again, please allow me to ask again. Does anyone (especially ballyalley) know about the effects of the magic items, besides the obscure explanation on the manual? I know that the Magic Sword enhances your current weapon (Magic Sword itself is not a weapon), and I also know that the Magic Book raises one of your attributes (the attribute depends on the version). But I am not too sure what the other items do.

I have just finished reading the entire thread. A deep respect for ballyalley and the others for the work and dedication. I am currently trying out the original TRS-80 version. I have tried out the Atari BASIC version. What makes me curious is that I cannot find any analysis/documentation of the effects of the magical items. Has anyone figured out the actual effect of those items? Manual says they lose effect once you exit the dungeon except for the sword and books. Nevertheless, if we can know for sure what these items do, then it would motivate the dungeon exploration more. After all, if the magical items are bugged and don't have any meaningful effects, the treasure finding in the dungeon becomes a lot less meaningful, as you are constantly collecting golds (which has no use after you purchased plate mail) and useless items.